New device removes stroke-causing blood clots better than standard treatment
February 2, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
An experimental device for removing blood clots in stroke patients dramatically outperformed the standard mechanical treatment, according to research presented by UCLA Stroke Center director Dr. Jeffrey L. Saver at the American Stroke Association’s 2012 international conference in New Orleans on Feb. 3.
Regular use of vitamin and mineral supplements could reduce the risk of colon cancer
February 2, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
Could the use of vitamin and mineral supplements in a regular diet help to reduce the risk of colon cancer and protect against carcinogens? A study published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (CJPP) found that rats given regular multivitamin and mineral supplements showed a significantly lower risk of developing colon cancer when they were exposed to carcinogens.
New technology to tackle treatment-resistant cancers
February 2, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
Free-flowing cancer cells have been mapped with unprecedented accuracy in the bloodstream of patients with prostate, breast and pancreatic cancer, using a brand new approach, in an attempt to assess and control the disease as it spreads in real time through the body, and solve the problem of predicting response and resistance to therapies.
New procedure repairs severed nerves in minutes, restoring limb use in days or weeks
February 2, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
American scientists believe a new procedure to repair severed nerves could result in patients recovering in days or weeks, rather than months or years. The team used a cellular mechanism similar to that used by many invertebrates to repair damage to nerve axons. Their results are published today in the Journal of Neuroscience Research.
New research confirms need for lung cancer testing
February 1, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
Different kinds of lung cancer behave in different ways, suggesting they are fundamentally different diseases. According to a University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in Cancer, the official journal of the American Cancer Society, different subgroups of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) show distinct patterns of spread in the body.
High triglyceride levels found to predict stroke in older women
February 1, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
In a surprising finding with significant implications for older women, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and NYU School of Medicine have found that high levels of triglycerides (blood fats) are the strongest risk factor for the most common type of stroke in older women more of a risk factor than elevated levels of total cholesterol or of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (known as “bad” cholesterol). The study appears online today in Stroke.
Potential new treatment identified for leishmaniasis
February 1, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
Researchers at the University of Dundee have identified fexinidazole as a possible, much-needed, new treatment for the parasitic disease visceral leishmaniasis.
Leishmaniasis is named after William Leishman, a Glasgwegian doctor serving with the British Army in India, who first identified the parasite in the early 1900s. The disease is the second biggest killer in Africa, Asia and Latin America after malaria, and affects 500,000 people, killing about 50-60,000 patients per year. Current drug treatments for the disease are unsatisfactory for reasons such as high cost, drug resistance or the need for hospitalisation.
A silver bullet to beat cancer?
February 1, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
The internet is awash with stories of how silver can be used to treat cancer. Now, lab tests have shown that it is as effective as the leading chemotherapy drug - and may have fewer side-effects.
Results from the study at the University of Leeds, published in Dalton Transactions, show that particular silver compounds are as toxic to cancer cells as the platinum-based drug Cisplatin, which is widely used to treat a range of cancers.
Lungs clothed in fresh cells offer new hope for transplant patients
January 31, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
For patients suffering from severe pulmonary diseases including emphysema, lung cancer or fibrosis, transplantation of healthy lung tissue may offer the best chance for survival. The surgical procedure, however, faces two primary challenges: an acute shortage of donor lungs and rejection of transplanted tissue by the recipient’s immune system.
First-of-its-kind head patch monitors brain blood flow and oxygen
January 31, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
A research team led by investigators at Mayo Clinic in Florida has found that a small device worn on a patient’s brow can be useful in monitoring stroke patients in the hospital. The device measures blood oxygen, similar to a pulse oximeter, which is clipped onto a finger.
